2-week-old boy bleeding profusely when Texas police arrived

A newborn is recovering and his mother faces possible criminal charges after Kountze police say a pet raccoon attacked the infant.

Officers were called to East Fox Street on April 12. There, they found a 2-week-old baby boy with lacerations across his left eye and across the top of his head.

Officers say the child was bleeding profusely while being held by his mother, 19-year-old Brittany Darby.

A preliminary investigation suggests the baby was left inside the home alone with two pet raccoons.

Police say Darby's boyfriend told them that he ran to find one of the raccoons slapping the baby in the face after hearing the baby screaming from outside the home.

The newborn was flown from the house in Kountze to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston where he was released two days later to his mother's custody.

Texas Parks and Wildlife says the family was housing two raccoons without a proper license or permit.

The animals were euthanized on scene as a safety precaution. Their remains were sent to Houston for rabies tests.

The Hardin County Health Department says tests showed the two raccoons did not have rabies or any other diseases. Darby called the 12News studios after learning a crew had visited the home where her son was injured. She was combative over the phone but told 12News the female raccoon that attacked her son was in heat and became aggressive.

Darby says the animal was trying to pick up her son and scratched him saying that the injuries did not require stitches.

Kountze police say they expect to charge Darby with abandoning or endangering a child, but are still investigating.

Texas Parks and Wildlife also expects to file charges since the animals were housed without a permit or license.